A lazy Sunday can be spent odmarajući se, but one good night may finally help someone da se odmori.
If you know the word trAjAti, which means to lAst, it will help you connect the form with double A with the action in progress, which shows that odmArAti is obviously used to show that you are or were "having a rest / resting".
On the other hand, the form with odmORIti, shows that you have had a rest and that's it, the result is more important than duration, so this form shows the perfective aspect.
Their various forms and differences in present and past tenses are so subtle, so I created a set of exercises for you to learn more about this weird odmoriti-odmarati duo by actually using them:) Before you see all the forms below, try to do this Micromatch exercise:
How much time did you need? Guess it wasn't that hard, once you were able to see the possible answers. For some more difficult tests, you might need all the verb forms in one place! Now, let me reveal them to you:
Present tense
- odmoriti se: odmorim - odmoriš - odmori // odmorimo - odmorite - odmore
- odmArAti se : odmaram - odmaraš - odmara // odmaramo - odmarate -odmaraju
Past tense
- odmorio - odmorila - odmorilo // odmorili - odmorile - odmorila
- odmarao - odmarala - odmaralo // odmarali - odmarale - odmarala
Have fun!
Resting or Getting Rested?
Aspect in Serbian - Odmoriti or Odmarati? is expanded here through Choosing between a process and a completed rest. Start with the original post, then use the new material to notice form, meaning and the situation in which a Serbian speaker would naturally choose it.
Odmoriti and Odmarati Side by Side
Read these five sentences horizontally to compare Latin, Cyrillic and English. Then read only the Serbian columns vertically. Every example belongs specifically to the subject of Aspect in Serbian - Odmoriti or Odmarati?, so keep that context when you adapt it.
| Latin script | Cyrillic script | English |
|---|---|---|
| Vikendom se odmaram u bašti. | Викендом се одмарам у башти. | I relax in the garden at weekends. |
| Posle puta ću se dobro odmoriti. | После пута ћу се добро одморити. | I will have a good rest after the trip. |
| Dok se Ana odmarala, telefon je zazvonio. | Док се Ана одмарала, телефон је зазвонио. | While Ana was resting, the phone rang. |
| Odmori se pre večerašnjeg časa. | Одмори се пре вечерашњег часа. | Get some rest before tonight’s lesson. |
| Deca se sada odmaraju posle igre. | Деца се сада одмарају после игре. | The children are resting after playing. |
Five New Situations for Serbian Aspect
For active practice, change one meaningful detail in each model while preserving the target structure. Say the altered line aloud, write it in the other Serbian script and explain what changed. This turns the focus of Aspect in Serbian - Odmoriti or Odmarati? into language you can retrieve independently.
Can You Choose the Natural Rest Verb?
Rebuild the five sentences from their English meanings in Aspect in Serbian - Odmoriti or Odmarati?. Write Latin first, transliterate into Cyrillic and open the solutions only after finishing the set.
- I relax in the garden at weekends.
- I will have a good rest after the trip.
- While Ana was resting, the phone rang.
- Get some rest before tonight’s lesson.
- The children are resting after playing.
Answers for Aspect in Serbian - Odmoriti or Odmarati?
- Vikendom se odmaram u bašti.
Викендом се одмарам у башти. - Posle puta ću se dobro odmoriti.
После пута ћу се добро одморити. - Dok se Ana odmarala, telefon je zazvonio.
Док се Ана одмарала, телефон је зазвонио. - Odmori se pre večerašnjeg časa.
Одмори се пре вечерашњег часа. - Deca se sada odmaraju posle igre.
Деца се сада одмарају после игре.